


Motley Arts

by HowardR



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: (it's slight but it's there), (sometimes), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Artists, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amity Blight Angst, Amity Blight-centric, Amity's parents are dickheads, Art, Awkward Romance, Bisexual Luz Noceda, Camila is kind of a bad mom sometimes, Creative License, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Good Friend Willow Park, Good Siblings Edric & Emira Blight, Human Amity Blight, I Don't Even Know, I don't know how much Ed and Em will show up, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Inspired by Art, Lesbian Amity Blight, Light Angst, Luz Noceda-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Female Character, POV Third Person, Protective Amity Blight, Religious Conflict, Romance, Sarcastic Luz Noceda, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Slow To Update, Top Luz Noceda, but she's not angsty and there's no tragic backstory, but they're good so, cause she's bad at self-care, i mean duh - Freeform, if at all, it's an Owl House fic, she tries really hard though and that's what matters, there's like a little bit of Luz angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:35:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29311191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowardR/pseuds/HowardR
Summary: It wasn’t that the room looked bad.Really. That wasn’t it. Because the room was… beautiful, in a certain messy, awkward way. Like Luz herself. The only word Amity could think to describe it was sincere.No, the problem wasn’t that the room looked bad.But Amity still felt like a pit opened somewhere deep in her stomach - and got a very awful, personal feeling, that something wasn’t… okay, about this place.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 14
Kudos: 92





	1. Admittedly Concerned

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Lumity Artist AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/757485) by Kame Chann. 



> Yo yo yo  
> this was inspired by [this art](https://twitter.com/Kame__Chann/status/1358813923546431489) by Kame Chann (@Kame_Chann on twitter). She's making some random comics of an art AU and generously allowed me use of her idea. Go follow her, her art's great.
> 
> I don't own these characters copyright stuff blah blah blah

Luz lived in her studio.

Okay, well, that wasn’t quite true. She didn’t  _ literally _ live in the studio, of course. Willow would see her come home some nights and collapse on the couch, dead to the world. She didn’t sleep in her studio. Technically, she didn’t live there.

But from the moment the studio opened - at ten in the morning - Luz would be gone. Except on the nights she had work, of course. And she’d only come back home after the sun had long since set.

Willow, admittedly, was a little worried about her.

Luz had always been very… focused. Well, no, focused was the wrong word. Strong-willed worked better. Passionate. Ever since Willow had met her, back in high school, she’d been driven to do everything the best way she could.

More than that, Luz was a fountain of creativity. This seemed to be a negative to a lot of people - including Luz’s mom, who seemed to be actively pushing down that creative urge. And yes, perhaps it sometimes lead Luz to making poor decisions, but Luz’s creativity was something Willow loved. The way she’d hop from project to project, artform to artform, writing for hours one day and learning to play an instrument the next. The way she’d get so focused on school assignments that she actually cared about - and it was like a little candle had lit behind her eyes. It reminded Willow of a jack-o-lantern; with that flickering flame of passion behind Luz’s face, glowing from every crevice it could reach.

Willow loved it.

But sometimes, it was… a little concerning.

On those nights when Willow would come to school, and Luz was already at her desk, working on some project or other and looking both eager and sleep-deprived. On those nights when Luz would hardly be able to eat, or talk, or do  _ anything, _ because her every thought was so focused on her newest endeavor.

That had extended into adulthood. Which only made it more concerning. There was a difference between seeing a sleep-deprived Luz sitting at her schooldesk, jotting notes happily and humming to herself, and Willow actually having to  _ see _ her roommate stay up all night, a single lamp burning over her desk and a steaming cup of coffee always within arm’s reach, ignoring all attempts to pry her from her work.

Willow had learned to live with it though.

Nowadays, she didn’t even try to push Luz to go to bed, whenever it was clear that she was invested in a project. She’d bring Luz food, and make her take bites of it while sharpening her pencil or shaking out her hands from so much drawing and note-taking. She’d make sure that Luz always had water to drink somewhere nearby, and would simply do her best to make sure that Luz didn’t run herself ragged with passion.

Gus helped, with his amazing cooking skills. Luz usually couldn’t resist a batch of freshly-baked muffins. Well - sometimes she could. When she was so focused on her work that even getting her to glance up took considerable effort. But it was always worth a try anyway.

But this was… new. And scary.

Because Luz had rented a room in an art studio. After saving up a ton of money from her job at the nearest coffee shop, she’d gotten herself several hundred dollars worth of supplies, and moved it all into her new studio.

And now she spent every spare second there.

Which meant Willow couldn’t be near her while she worked anymore. At least, not nearly as easily. It meant Willow couldn’t push Luz to eat, or drink, or take care of herself. It meant Willow couldn’t even  _ ask _ Luz to try to get to bed on time.

It meant that Willow hardly even got to see Luz anymore. Most nights, Luz would be gone before Willow woke up, and would come home long after Willow had gone to bed.

...Or maybe not go home at all. Willow wasn’t sure. It seemed like some nights, Luz just… stayed at her studio.

Willow wasn’t even sure that was  _ legal. _

And Willow was concerned right now.

She’d been texting Luz all day. Luz responded. Slowly. It took her ten minutes to read a message Willow had sent -  _ at best. _ Sometimes she’d just go offline for hours, and come back without an explanation. Sometimes she’d apologize for ghosting Willow. Sometimes she wouldn’t.

Willow was sure the rudeness wasn’t intentional. If she called Luz out on it, the girl would be incredibly apologetic.

But, admittedly, it still stung. A little bit.

Today, though, Luz had been particularly slow with her responses. She had a new project she was working on. Some collage, or something. Luz had tried to explain it to her - there was a lot of complex descriptions that Willow had only half-listened to. She didn’t really have to listen when Luz was ranting - it wasn’t like Luz cared if she listened, most of the time. She just wanted to think out loud. And Willow made for a good sounding board.

Her and Luz’s most recent conversation had been particularly short-winded.

Willow (2:08 PM):

Are you going to come home tonight?

**_Luz (2:15 PM):_ **

**_Maybe_ **

Willow (2:15 PM):

Please do. I don’t think I’ve actually seen your face all week.

**_Luz (2:27 PM):_ **

**_Holup_ **

Willow (2:28 PM):

Holing up.

**_Luz (4:12 PM):_ ** ****

**_Im sorry_ **

******_I guess Ive been distracted recently_ **

**_Cant come home today though. Rly busy_ **

Willow was a little frustrated at this point. She understood Luz. She didn’t want to push Luz too hard.

But they were friends - and Luz was practically killing herself over an art project.  _ Again. _ Willow thought that she had at least a  _ little _ bit of room to be frustrated.

She was more concerned than anything.

After a moment of wracking her brain for a way to get Luz to come home - Willow grimaced, and sent the message she’d been reluctant to send all week.

Willow (4:14 PM):

Would it be okay if I came to your studio?

She was reluctant - not because she didn’t want to see Luz’s studio - but because she was afraid Luz wouldn’t want her to.

Luz’s art had always been very… personal. Willow didn’t want to intrude on that. And she didn’t want to overstep boundaries.

But Luz had practically left her no choice. If she was going to try and kill herself over her work, Willow would just have to invade and stop her.

The next ten minutes were an agonizing crawl of anticipation.

**_Luz (4:25 PM):_ **

**_Like_ **

******_today?_ **

Willow (4:25 PM):

Maybe not today.

But today or tomorrow would be best.

You don’t have to say yes. I just want to see you - and if you won’t come home, this seems like the best way.

Another agonizing crawl slugged by. Shorter this time, luckily - but still an incredibly slow seven minutes.

**_Luz (4:32 PM):_ **

**_Okay! You can come over_ **

Willow - silently - made a very triumphant noise, before her phone buzzed quietly again.

**_Luz (4:33 PM):_ **

**_But tomorrow, not today. And bring those muffins Gus makes_ **

**_and coffee_ **

Willow smiled.

Willow (4:33 PM):

Okay

**_Luz (4:34 PM):_ **

**_Thanks_ **

**_I gtg now tho_ **

**_busy_ **

**_love you byeee_ **

Willow (4:35 PM):

Love you too. Have fun with your collage thingy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay
> 
> Uhm
> 
> My main Owl House fic right now is The Girl In Black. If you haven't checked it out... I mean, I won't tell you that you have to. But maybe consider it. And if you do check it out, please leave a comment. Comments literally make content creators so unbelievably happy you have no idea.
> 
> Point is, most of my Owl House love and effort is funneling right into that, and it has an actual update schedule somehow. But after seeing Kame Chann's art (which inspired this fic, in case you didn't read the beginning notes, and which you can find here: https://twitter.com/Kame__Chann/status/1358813923546431489 - and no, I'm not going to go through the trouble of making that a clickable link again, just copy and paste it or scroll to the top you lazy sod) I wanted to make an artist AU.
> 
> This really isn't that similar at all to Kame Chann's AU. But whatevs. I'm liking it so far.
> 
> No update schedule. Yet. I'll try to get a chapter out by next Tuesday, but no promises. I've got good ideas for where this is gonna go - as you might be able to tell by the truly ridiculous number of tags - but, again. Most of my effort is going into The Girl In Black. This is a side project.
> 
> So I'm sorry if you love this fic way more, I guess. If enough people love this more than The Girl in Black (and leave comments: pls pls pls leave comments) I might end up making this my main fic, but for now. Side project.
> 
> Thanks for reading this first chapter. I hope you enjoyed.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> -Howard R.


	2. Art Studio

Luz’s studio was amazing.

It was a pretty bad wreck, too.

The first thing that stood out to Willow - after her very initial impression of  _ holy crap _ \- was the coffee cups.

Coffee cups were  _ everywhere. _ All of them were empty, it looked like, and no two cups were alike. Some of them looked like they were from where Luz worked - the local cafe just a few blocks away. But they always had different names.  _ Morticia, Lucy, Ophelia, Hecate. _ Willow wasn’t even sure if they were made up names, or if Luz had just taken coffees meant for customers who never managed to actually get them. Or some combination of both.

But cups weren’t the only coffee containers. Or the only containers of caffeine. There were cans all around, too - for soft drinks, flavoured teas, monster energy. Everything under the sun that would give Luz a little more pep in her step.

They were oddly organized, in a way that was somehow both messy and ordered. Coffee cups always stood at the edges of a desk that was otherwise covered in art supplies, the monster energies were always left empty in their boxes and set aside somewhere, soft drinks were all relegated to a single section of the room, etc.

After noticing that, Willow began to take in… the rest.

The sheets of paper tacked onto every available surface, covered in doodles and portraits of figures Willow didn’t recognize. The bulletin board covered in brightly coloured sticky notes, which had notes jotted on them in a tight, hasty scrawl. The easels and crayon boxes. The single wall that was splattered with droplets of paint, which arranged themselves into a rainbow of hazy shapes and half-suggested silhouettes.

There was  _ one _ surface on which someone could sit. It was a hard, rickety stool, that looked like it would collapse under Luz’s weight any second.

“Well?” Luz said, with an excited grin. “Whaddya think?”

Willow glanced around - trying, in vein, to decide what she  _ did _ think.

“It’s very…  _ you,” _ she said, after a moment.

Luz grinned even wider. “Isn’t it great? I haven’t had a space like this… well, ever! I’ve been so busy - so inspired - I’ve been in the  _ zone, _ Willow.”

“I can tell,” Willow said, softly. “You’ve got some paint on your cheek.”

Luz, hastily, wiped at both her cheeks - which only smeared the droplets of paint on them. “Did I get it?”

“...Sure.”

Luz smiled again. She was in a smiley mood, clearly. “Awesome.”

There was a pause, for a moment.

“...Luz.”

“Willow?” Luz chirped, still smiling.

“You know I’m happy for you,” Willow said, trying to ignore how Luz’s face fell a little at her tone. She couldn’t help but feel like the scum of the earth. “But maybe you should… lay off the art? For just a few days? You look… bad.”

“What?” Luz said, blinking. “I look bad?”

“Yeah. You’re… well, your lips are super chapped, for one. You’re thinner than usual. You’ve got bags under your eyes. Your hands seem clammy, and your leg keeps jittering.”

Luz glanced down at her leg, and seemed to notice for the first time that it was jack-rabbiting up and down.

She stopped it.

“I feel great, though,” Luz said, aiming for a soft smile and only managing to look even more tired and withdrawn. “Besides, I can’t abandon my work now - hold on, hold on, you haven’t even seen the main-”

“I don’t want to, Luz,” Willow said - cutting her off just as she started to get up. “Have you eaten today?”

“...I… had a banana. I think. Or was that yesterday morning…” Luz muttered.

“How much did you sleep last night?”

“Uhm.” Luz pointedly avoided looking into Willow’s eyes.

“Do you even know what day of the week it is?”

“...Saturday?” Luz said - or, perhaps more accurately, asked.

“It’s Monday, Luz,” Willow said, giving her an unimpressed look. “You missed work completely.”

“...I just lost track of time, heh,” Luz said, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. “Been having so much fun, y’know? But I’ll apologize to my boss tomorrow morning.”

“This isn’t about work, Luz,” Willow said, voice long-suffering. “This is about  _ you. _ You always do this. You can’t replace personal health with art.”

“I’m perfectly healthy!” Luz said - gesturing wildly, as if that would make her point more accurate.

“When was the last time you ate? A  _ meal _ \- not a five minute snack or a cookie from the vending machine.”

“...Uhm.”

“Oh my God, you can’t remember, can you?”

“I - that doesn’t matter,” Luz said, waving her off. “I’ve been having plenty of snacks, I’ve stayed hydrated. And I’m happy as a lark!”

“Happy doesn’t mean healthy, Luz,” Willow said. “Listen - I know you’re enjoying your work, and I’m happy for you. But maybe you should come home today. Get a long sleep, have a full meal and take a shower. You’ll do better work refreshed, anyway.”   


“Well, I-”

Luz’s response was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

Both Willow and Luz startled - Luz practically jumped three feet in the air. She’s always been quick to jump. That’s why Willow never lets her hold the popcorn when they watch horror movies in the theater.

Luz jumps up to get the door, even though Willow has told her at  _ least _ a million times that there’s no need to. Willow likes getting the door anyway - it’s always interesting to see who’s on the other side.

“Oh!” Luz chirps, a smile rapidly forming on her face. “Hey Albert! Hooty!”

There are two people at the door.

They were an interesting pair. It was pretty clear, as a glance, that they were siblings. The big, oblong eyes, similar hair colours and weirdly-shaped ears made that obvious enough. But beyond that, there were very few similarities between the two.

The biggest difference between them - or at least, the one that stuck out most at a glance - was their heights. One of them was pretty average - maybe a little tall. They had light brown, close-cropped, curly hair, and a wide smile. They had a dark tan, and casual, but nice clothes. Tight brown khakis, a simple white dress shirt and a light brown windbreaker. Really, the only part of their wardrobe that wasn’t especially nice was their boots - which were scuffed and splashed with what looked like dried mud.

The other one was… short.  _ Really _ short. Short enough that, in combination with their childish features, Willow had no doubt they were younger than eighteen, and wouldn’t have been surprised to see them in a fourth grade science class. They were less than half the height of their brother. Their hair was a slightly darker shade of brown, and was combed back. Well -  _ combed _ was the wrong word. It looked more like it had just been pushed back by someone who didn’t want it in their face. Little tufts of it fell in front of their ears, and a few stray hairs obscured their eyes. Their clothes were a lot less nice than their counterpart’s - instead they had a simple, ridiculously oversized brown jacket, that almost looked more like a trenchcoat on them. Their pants looked like black jeans, and they had tears at the knees and several mud stains. On top of that, they looked to be about two sizes too big for the little one, just like the jacket - and only managed to stay on because of a tight belt. Said tight belt could only be seen because their t-shirt, which also looked oversized, was tucked into their pants. Their wide eyes and small mouth gave them a look of perpetual surprise.

“Hiya Luz!” said the taller one, giving her an energetic wave. “We were just passing by and wanted to say hi!”

“Oh! Actually, I’m glad you two came by - I wanted to introduce you to someone.” Luz stepped aside, so the two could get a good look at Willow. “Hooty, Albert, this is Willow. Willow - Hooty and Albert.”

Luz, helpfully, gestured to each of them when she said their name. Hooty was apparently the taller one. Albert was the tiny one.

Hooty grinned widely at her. “Hiya Willow! Nice to meet you! I’m always happy to make new friends - and a friend of Luz is a friend of mine!”

Albert gave her a small, subtle wave. Their expression didn’t change.

Willow found herself unable to muster up a greeting for the odd pair - instead torn between surprise, concern, and curiosity.

“Albert is selectively mute,” Luz said, as if that alone would answer the wide berth of questions Willow had. “I’ve been trying to learn some ASL to talk to him better, but I haven’t found a ton of time.”

“And I’m Hooty!” Hooty added, still grinning. It was getting a little creepy at this point.

Luz smiled softly. “And this is Hooty. He’s… energetic.”

“Tell me if I’m being annoying,” Hooty said, suddenly and without prompting. “I know I can get excited sometimes. I’m trying to be better - Albert is really helping a lot!”

“They have the flat across from mine,” Luz explained. 

“...Oh. Well. Hi, Albert. Hi, Hooty,” Willow said - trying not to make it too obvious how weird she found the pair of them.

She shook herself.  _ One person’s weird is another one’s normal. Don’t judge them for that. If they aren’t hurting anyone, there’s no reason to dislike them. _

She gave them both her best attempt at a smile. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

Albert gave her a silent stare, that made Willow feel like her soul was being dissected.

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Hooty chirped - and then, suddenly, his expression fell. “Wait. I already said it was nice to meet you.” And then his smile was back. “Well, that’s okay! It bears repeating!”

Hooty - subtly - nudged Albert. Albert startled, a little, and stopped staring quite so piercingly. He gave Willow a quiet, short nod.

“So, what are we talking about?” Hooty chirped,  _ still smiling. _

_ Didn’t that hurt his cheeks after a while? _

“...Uh,” Willow said.

Hooty’s expression fell again. “Oh. I’m sorry. That was intrusive, wasn’t it? I can leave!”

Luz smiled at him. “Thanks, Hooty.”

“En pea!” Hooty chirped. It took Willow a moment to translate it -  _ NP. As in, no problem. _

She wasn’t sure how to feel about Hooty.

“Say bye, Albert!” Hooty chirped, scooping Albert up and sitting the young one down on top of his shoulders.

Albert waved silently again.

“Byeeeeee!” Hooty called as he ran out - ducking under the frame of the door so Albert’s head didn’t get hit.

Luz walked over to close the door behind them.

“...They seem nice,” Willow said, not entirely sure if she was lying or not.

Luz smiled. “They are. Take a bit of getting used to, but Hooty’s really sweet and… surprisingly violent when he wants to be. And Albert is adorable.”

“Hooty’s a weird name,” Willow said.

Luz shrugged. “Their mom is apparently kind of a recluse. And they have another brother that lives a little further away - King.”

There was a moment of silence.

“But I can’t come home, Willow,” Luz said, walking over to her desk - which had a laptop, a drawing tablet, three notebooks and an array of drawing utensils on it. “I have too much work to do. Maybe tomorrow?”

Willow knew better than to try and convince her. She was already losing attention in Willow - already starting to get sucked into her work again. Willow saw her eyeing up her notebooks, her bulletin board. Her pens and her pencils. She was already  _ desperate _ to get back to her work, and nothing Willow said would convince her to leave it. Even for just a night.

So instead - Willow simply sighed, and did her best to negotiate.

“Tomorrow. You have to  _ promise _ to come home tomorrow. And you have to get a meal before six.”

“Three days from now, no meal,” Luz countered.

“You aren’t shaking me on this, Luz.”

“...Day after, a snack,” Luz tried.

Willow sighed.

“Day after - but you  _ have _ to have a meal, Luz. No buts.”

“...Okay,” Luz said, slumping a little in her chair. “Before six.”

“Promise,” Willow said, giving her a stubborn look.

“...I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: misses the upload day on my main TOH fic  
> Also me: uploads on my side fic two days later
> 
> Sorry to anyone here who also reads The Girl In Black. I don't really have an excuse. Writing is hard, okay ._.
> 
> Yes, I'm trying to make Hooty at least somewhat likable. I know it's a nearly-impossible task. But I can't help but try.
> 
> I wanna write a POV chapter for Owlbert/Albert at some point.
> 
> Me writing this chapter: okay, Owlbert becomes Albert, duh, but what's a human version of Hooty?  
> Me still: ...fuck it, let's just call him Hooty.
> 
> I'm still really enjoying writing this. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to upload again within the week.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> -Howard R.


	3. Heavy Use of Emoticons

Amity hated nothing more in this world than elevators.

This surprised some of her friends. When she felt open enough to tell them anything. She was so… pristine and perfect. The daughter of a preacher. It wasn’t that she was incredibly well-groomed or anything. In fact, she made a deliberate effort to look good, but approachably so. Her hair was tied back into a tail that fell effortlessly over one of her shoulders, but she still had some short bangs. She even had to brush them out of her face every now and then. Her makeup was light and simple - just enough to polish off any little glaring flaws. She usually dressed refined, yet somewhat casual. The outfit today was a simple black windbreaker over a white dress shirt. And, of course, her golden cross necklace. She never forgot to wear that. Her hair was a light brown, and her eyes were sharp and hazel-coloured.

Despite her apparently being approachable, though, everyone felt the coldness radiating from her. She didn’t open up to people. And people didn’t open up to her.

But when she  _ did _ tell people she hated elevators, they were usually surprised.

_ Why? _ Was always the question. And she had an answer ready;

_ Because I hate feeling inactive. Taking the stairs means I at least get to feel like I’m doing something. _

This wasn’t… wrong. But it wasn’t quite the whole truth either.

Well. Whatever. Point was, she hated elevators.

That was the only excuse she had for how she acted.

There was a stairwell in the building, of course. But her “friends” - read: the people she had to associate with - had ushered her into the elevator without a thought.

And it wasn’t like Amity could’ve stopped them halfway through and told them that she actually despised elevators. That would be embarrassing. And rude. And plus, she didn’t even notice what was happening until it was too late, since she had been too busy daydreaming.

That was the only excuse she had for her first meeting with Luz Noceda.

She came out of the elevator with her heart thumping wildly somewhere in her throat. Her lungs felt about three times smaller than when she had come into the building, her teeth were clenched so hard that her jaw ached. Every breath came in as a wisp at best.

It was incredible that nobody noticed her incredible lack of composure. She stumbled wildly out of the elevator - that horrible, cold, constricting metal  _ prison  _ \- and began running towards her studio. Her safe, simple, immaculate studio.

And it just happened that it was on the same day that Luz had promised to come home with Willow.

One moment, Amity was plowing on blindly, desperate for the only space in the world that she really thought was  _ safe _ \- and the next, she was slamming into something warm and solid.

She landed firmly on her ass, and her binder flew from her hands.

“Watch it,  _ nitwit!” _ she hissed, head turning so sharply that her bangs partially fell in front of her eyes.

And there she was. Skin sun kissed, eyes glittering, hands braced against the floor and hair askew.

Amity’s eyes, rapidly, shifted to another girl nearby, as she struggled to her feet. This one had green highlights in her black hair, thick-rimmed circular glasses and a comfy-looking sweater.

It took a moment for the right wires to cross in her brain.

_ “...Willow?” _

Willow - who had been fussing over the other girl and helping her to her feet - turned to her.

Amity  _ saw _ the recognition dawn in her eyes - before, suddenly, walls slammed shut between them.

“Amity.”

Amity had to repress a wince at her ice-cold tone.

The other girl was staring at her. Silently. Amity tried to ignore it.

“...How have you been?” Amity tried - aiming for a casual tone but only managing to sound stiff and awkward.

“Well.”

This time, Amity didn’t quite manage to repress her wince.

“...Willow?” the other girl muttered. That was already how Amity was starting to label her -  _ the other girl. _ “...Who is this?”

“Luz-”

Amity quickly committed the name to memory.

“-this is Amity. She’s my ex.”

Amity saw the other girl - Luz, her name was Luz, Amity had to remember that - run through a quiet ring of emotions.

Shock, followed by confusion, and a little spark of… anger? Passion? Curiosity? Amity couldn’t quite tell.

“You’re gay?” the other girl  _ (fuck, Luz, her name was Luz) _ asked.

Willow, stiffly, grabbed her by the shoulder. “We were just leaving, right Luz?”

“...Oh! Yep!” the oth-  _ Luz _ chirped, prying her eyes away from Amity for the first time since they’d slammed into each other.

“Wait, Willow-”

Willow acted like she didn’t hear a thing.

It was th -  _ Luz, _ who actually took a moment to glance back at her, eyes glittering with hesitance.

Suddenly, she yanked Willow to a stop.

Willow stumbled slightly, and seemed totally unprepared for Luz to rush away from her and towards Amity.

For a single, strange moment, Amity thought Luz was going to attack her or something.

Instead, Luz leaned down to scoop up-

_ Her binder. _

Geez, she had almost completely forgotten it in the shock of meeting Willow again.

And, in the surprise of Luz coming over to pick up her binder, Amity didn’t notice the girl sneakily open it and scribble something down.

“Your binder!”

Luz held it out to her.

Amity - with a metric ton of hesitance - reached out and took it.

Luz gave her a very hesitant, very nervous, slightly strange smile. Amity didn’t quite manage to return it.

And, with that - she went right back to Willow.

Amity watched them go silently.

* * *

It was only after she got into her studio that she was able to appreciate just how dumb Luz was.

She stepped in, and collapsed in one of her chairs - before staring silently into her most recent, still unfinished, painting.

It taunted her with every stroke.

She had hit a roadblock on it.

After a long moment, Amity resolved to push the painting off for another day - and brainstorm on her next project. She opened her binder to the page that her pen had been left in.

By Luz.

And, right there - scribbled on the blank page - was a simple message in loopy, but basic script.

_ Text me? :3 _ _   
_ _ ;p _ _   
_ _ owo _

And below, was a series of digits that Amity presumed to be a phone number.

She just stared at it for a long, long time.

* * *

_??? (4:16 PM): _

_ You are, by far, the biggest idiot I have ever met. _

**_Luz (4:22):_ **

**_Amity??? OwO_ **

_ Amity? (4:23): _

_ I am already regretting this. _

**_Luz (4:24):_ **

**_:3 thanks for messaging!_ **

**_I wanted to talk because Willow seems kinda messed up abt all this???_ **

**_And shes like my BFF so ye_ **

**_Wanted to ask for backstory_ **

**_Oh and your pronouns too_ **

_ Amity (4:25): _

_ My… pronouns? _

**_Luz (4:25):_ **

**_Yeah!_ **

**_Like, she/her or he/him or they/them or whatever_ **

**_I wouldnt wanna misgender you_ **

**_I mean I already kinda almost did when I asked Willow if she was gay but just wanted to make suresies_ **

_ Amity (4:27): _

_ Uh. I guess she/her? _

**_Luz (4:28):_ **

**_Cool :D_ **

**_so ye whats the deal with you and Willow tho???_ **

_ Amity (4:29): _

_ We used to be together. Now we’re not. That’s it. _

**_Luz (4:30):_ **

**_But like_ **

**_okay nvm I dont wanna pressure you or anything_ **

**_but if you or Willow ever feel comfortable telling me what happened between yall Im all ears_ **

_ Amity (4:33): _

_ Noted. _

**_Luz (4:34):_ **

**_I’m she/her too btw_ **

_ Amity (4:36): _

_ Good to know. _

**_Luz (4:37):_ **

**_But yeah dont be afraid to message me if you wanna tell Willow smth_ **

**_Or like_ **

**_If you wanted to say something to lil ole me ^^;_ **

_ Amity (4:39): _

_ Has anyone ever said that you overuse emoticons? _

**_Luz (4:40):_ **

**_Nope!_ **

**_:3_ **

_ Amity (4:42): _

_ Lord, give me patience in these trying times. _

**_Luz (4:43):_ **

**_Ooh are you Christian?_ **

**_But like I thought you dated Willow though_ **

**_Arent Christians like big against that?_ **

  
  
  


**_Luz (5:16 PM):_ **

**_...Amity?_ **

**_Im sorry if I offended you_ **

_ Amity (5:25): _

_ You didn’t offend me. _

_ My church wasn’t very strident about it. _

**_Luz (5:27):_ **

**_Oh aight_ **

**_Well yeah text me if you need to tell Willow smth!_ **

**_Or if you gotta get something off your chest!_ **

**_Or if you need a ride or anything!_ **

_ Amity (5:29): _

_ Thanks for the offer. _

_ I’ll keep it in mind. _

**_Luz (5:30):_ **

**_Np! ^^_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me in The Girl in Black: The two leads haven't met yet and we're 11k words in
> 
> Me here: hee hee gay brain go brrrrr
> 
> I'm just having fun with this one, okay?
> 
> Yeah this is kinda gonna be a text fic? Like partially it is. I like the texting format. Because dialogue is fun and texting is a nice excuse to have a dialogue-only exchange.
> 
> And also holy crap we've got 61 kudos already. Two chapters in. I'm like 19 kudos away from 3k total on all my fics so please consider leaving kudos? And thanks to anyone who already has <3
> 
> Oh uh right I guess I should also probably mention - this has a lot more AU details than just 'they're all human and there's no magic and also there's an art studio rental place'. As you can probably tell from the descriptions of characters here. Don't know exactly what I'm doing with that yet, but I've got lots of ideas <-<
> 
> But I just wanna get this out so
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> -Howard R.


	4. Making Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Willow is underlined
> 
> **_Luz is bold italics_ **
> 
> _Amity is italics_
> 
> ~~Strikethrough is text that was typed, then deleted before it got sent~~

“Hey, Willow-”

Willow felt her mouth twitch slightly, as she repressed a scowl.

“Amity wants to meet up with both of us tomorrow,” Luz said, staring at her phone. Gentle blueish-white light harshened the imperfections of her face. Her sharp cheekbones were thrown into stark relief, and the perpetual bags under her eyes stood out like wounds.

“I don’t want to see her.”

Luz blinked - and glanced up.

“Hm? Why not? She seemed nice enough.”

Willow couldn’t help but scowl. “Yeah. She  _ seemed _ nice enough.”

Her tone came out far more biting than she’d expected.

Luz blinked - clearly not ready for such a harsh turn-around.

“...Sorry,” she muttered, drawing in on herself. “Didn’t realize it was a sensitive subject.”

Willow sighed. “It’s… fine. Sorry. It’s just…”

Luz glanced up - and offered her a soft, sympathetic smile. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, I. I’ve needed to get this off my chest for a while now anyway.”

Luz turned off her phone, and sat up properly - giving Willow her full attention. “Take as much time as you need.”

Willow took a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Amity was… my first time,” Willow said.

Luz’s eyebrows crawled up on her forehead. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Willow said, turning away. “I was young, and vulnerable. We were on a date, and things… escalated… and…”

She shook her head. “Urgh. Anyway. She was my first time. But when I woke up, she wasn’t there.

  
“She ghosted me for a few months. And when I finally got ahold of her - she just acted like she didn’t know me.”

Luz blinked - and stared across the room, eyes hazy and thoughtful. “...Why do you think she did that?”

“I don’t know,” Willow said, keeping her eyes firmly away from Luz. “And I don’t want to. No explanation is good enough. She took advantage of me, and then abandoned me. And now she just literally crashing back into my life, and wants to be friends again?  _ No. _ She doesn’t get a second chance.”

Chocolate-coloured eyes glittered in the darkness.

“I’m… “

Luz glanced away.

“Sorry, Willow,” she muttered.

Willow gave her best shot at a gentle smile. It felt strained. “It’s fine. Happened years ago now. I just… don’t want to see her again.”

“Okay. Got it,” Luz said, standing up and pulling out her phone. “I’ll tell Amity.”

“How did you get her phone number, anyway?” Willow asked, curious despite herself.

“I gave her mine,” Luz said, as if it were obvious.

“Oh.”

A beat.

“Hey… Willow?”

“Yeah, Luz?” Willow said, raising her eyebrow.

“...Nothing.”

* * *

**_Luz (2:01 PM):_ **

**_Willow doesnt wanna see you_ **

_ Amity (2:03): _

_ Oh. _

_ Okay. _

**_Luz (2:04):_ **

**_She told me what happened with you 2_ **

_ Amity (2:07): _

_ Okay. _

**_Luz (2:07):_ **

**_Why did you abandon her like that?_ **

_ Amity (2:10): _

~~_ I didn’t _ ~~

~~_ It’s complica _ ~~

~~_ I wasn’t su _ ~~

_ I don’t have to explain anything to you. _

_ Amity (3:01): _

~~_ Luz?  _ ~~

_ Amity (3:30): _

_ Luz? _

**_Luz (3:43):_ **

**_Yeah?_ **

_ Amity (3:45): _

_ Oh. _

_ I thought you’d left. _

**_Luz (3:47):_ **

**_I didnt know there was anything left to talk about_ **

_ Amity (3:48): _

_ Ah. _

**_Luz (3:48):_ **

**_Is there?_ **

**_Anything left to talk about i mean_ **

_ Amity (3:53): _

_ I want to apologize to Willow in person. _

_ For everything. _

_ I don’t know you, but. You’re her friend. _

_ Could you… set something up? _

**_Luz (3:56):_ **

**_Ill do my best_ **

* * *

**_Luz (3:56):_ **

**_Willooooow_ **

Willow - having fished her phone out of her pocket to check out the text she’d gotten - glanced up at Luz when she saw the message.

Luz was staring resolutely at her phone, refusing to acknowledge her stare.

Willow sighed tiredly.

Willow (3:58):

Luz

Why are you texting me?

**_Luz (3:59):_ **

**_Im awkward ok???_ **

**_Sometimes I dont wanna say stuff out loud ._._ **

Instantly, any exhaustion or light annoyance Willow felt melted away.

Willow (4:01):

Alright

uhm

What’s up?

**_Luz (4:03):_ **

**_Uhm_ **

**_well_ **

**_could you meet up with amity for me?_ **

The spark of emotion that lit in Willow’s chest was interrupted by Luz’s next message;

**_Ill come with you and we can leave if you need to_ **

Willow (4:06):

...Why?

**_Luz (4:07):_ **

**_She wants to apologize_ **

**_in person_ **

**_I think we should give her a chance_ **

**_I know she hurt you but id like it if you 2 resolved this issue_ **

Willow (4:09):

...Okay I am hesitantly agreeing to this

but this is strange.

I’m onto you, Noceda.

Something’s up here.

**_Luz (4:10):_ **

**_I dont know what youre talking about_ **

When she glanced up, Luz was blushing.

Willow (4:11):

OML you do  _ not _ have a crush on her.

Luz lit up like a christmas light.

Willow (4:12):

Luz Noceda, you are such a disaster

she literally called you a nitwit  _ yesterday. _

**_Luz (4:13):_ **

**_Shes really hot okay????_ **

**_Plus_ **

**_didnt she seem kinda panicked when we ran into her?_ **

**_I think she was having an anxiety attack or smth_ **

**_so I dont hold the nitwit thing against her_ **

Willow blinked.

  
  


She hadn’t noticed Amity seeming panicked - but then again, she hadn’t seen Amity until she crashed into Luz. Luz was looking towards where Amity came from, though, so she’d have probably noticed if Amity was having an attack.

...Did Amity… have panic attacks?

Willow hadn’t known. She’d known Amity better than anyone else, when they were together - but that didn’t mean Amity was  _ open _ with her. She’d known Amity had problems with her family, though, and her church.

She wouldn’t be…  _ shocked. _ If Amity suffered from panic attacks.

She shook the thoughts off.

Willow (4:17):

Well

sure, we can meet up with her.

**_Luz (4:19):_ **

**_Ill tell amity :D_ **

**_ooh! can i choose where we go???_ **

Willow (4:20):

...Sure?

Why not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little bit to get out, huh?
> 
> A bit of a short chapter, but whatevs. And not much to say. I'm gonna write that meeting next time, and then... probably start writing some lumity fluff.
> 
> Hope you're all still on-board with this random side project.
> 
> BTW I've got so many ideas for Owl House fics and I'm not working on any of them because I've already got two WIPs for this fandom and I need to keep on the straight and narrow.
> 
> So be ready for a consistent stream of fics once the two I'm working on are donesies.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> -Howard R.


End file.
